In a matchup that showcases a pair of teams ranked in the Top 25 nationally, the No. 24 Virginia Tech Hokies are getting 5.5 points as they prepare to welcome the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish to Lane Stadium/Worsham Field. Interested parties can catch the action live on ABC and the game starts at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Betting Preview: Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Virginia Tech Hokies
,Virginia Tech is a live dog here and is currently getting 5.5 points. The Fighting Irish are also receiving -235 moneyline odds while the Hokies are +185. Oddsmakers have set the over/under (O/U) at 54 points. If the favorite gives up points in the early stages, it would likely result in a reasonable in-game betting scenario.
The early action has been shifting toward the Fighting Irish, as the line opened at 4.5. The over/under has yet to change after it was set initially at 54.
Both of these teams have rewarded gamblers this season as the Fighting Irish have gained 4.3 units while the Hokies are up 4.7 units.
The Fighting Irish have gone 5-0 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Hokies are 3-1 SU.
The Irish are looking to remain unbeaten following a 38-17 win over Stanford last week in which Ian Book completed 24-of-33 passes for 278 yards and four touchdowns. Dexter Williams (161 yards on 21 rush attempts, one TD) and the signal-caller Book (47 yards on 15 carries) led the ground attack. Miles Boykin (11 receptions, 144 yards, one TD) and Chase Claypool (three catches, 23 yards, one TD) handled the receiving duties in the win.
Virginia Tech just earned a 31-14 win over Duke. The defensive secondary allowed the Blue Devils to air it out for 256 yards. Deon Jackson was a bright spot in the loss for Duke, recording 34 rushing yards and a score on 15 attempts, along with 34 yards on three catches. For Virginia Tech, Ryan Willis completed 17-of-27 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns. Steven Peoples (47 yards on 16 rush attempts, one TD) and Deshawn McClease (27 yards on 10 carries) handled the running game as Damon Hazelton (four receptions, 65 yards, one TD) and Eric Kumah (three catches, 67 yards) led the receiving attack in the win.
Each of these squads sports a remarkably similar (61-39) run-pass ratio on the season. The Fighting Irish have rushed for 201.4 yards/game and have 13 scores on the ground this year. The Hokies are logging 204.0 rush yards per game and have 10 total rushing TDs.
It appears that the Hokies should hold an advantage in all aspects of the ground game. Their running backs has logged 4.6 yards per carry while their defense is allowing a YPC of 2.6 to opponents. The Fighting Irish have recorded 4.4 yards per carry while allowing 3.3 YPC to opponents.
The Irish offense has averaged 241.0 yards in the air overall and has eight passing scores so far. The Hokies have recorded 275.5 pass yards per outing and have nine total pass TDs.
Defensively, Notre Dame appears to have the upper hand when it comes to limiting the pass. The team has allowed 127.0 rush yards and 213.6 pass yards per game. The Virginia Tech defense has allowed 304.0 yards per game to opposing passers and 84.0 yards per game to opposing runners. The Irish are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 3.83 to opposing QBs, while the Hokies have allowed a 6.50 ANY/A.
Willis probably has the advantage over Book in this one. The Hokies man under center has an adjusted net yards per pass attempt 12.74 for the year and 11.28 over his past two games while Book’s ANY/A is 10.32 and 10.29 over the past two outings.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Virginia Tech Hokies NCAA Pick
SU Winner: Notre Dame, ATS Winner: Notre Dame, O/U: Under
Team Betting Trends
- Notre Dame was favored by 5 points in its previous game and the O/U was set at 54.5. The over cashed and Notre Dame covered in the 38-17 win over Stanford.
- Notre Dame has rushed for 5.3006993006993 yards per attempt over its past three games and 5.4 over its last two.
- Virginia Tech has averaged 5.2 yards per carry over its last three outings and 4.4 over its last two.
- Each team has lost one fumble this season.
- Over its last three games, Notre Dame is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- Virginia Tech was favored by 7 points in its last match and the O/U was 52. The under cashed and Virginia Tech covered in the 31-14 win over Duke.
- Over its last three games, Virginia Tech is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- The Fighting Irish offense has created two pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Hokies have accounted for three such plays.
- The Notre Dame defense has allowed two pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Virginia Tech has given up three such plays.
- Both teams have produced eight rushing plays of 20 yards or more. The Notre Dame offense has recorded 35 running plays of 10+ yards while Virginia Tech has accounted for 25 such plays.
- The Fighting Irish defense has allowed four rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Hokies have given up three such runs.
- The Notre Dame defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 13 times this year. Virginia Tech has produced 12 sacks.
